What is it people want out of porn? For some, the answer is as simple as wanting to see people fuck. Others prefer to rely on the visuals they create in their mind by reading erotica or conjuring up fantasies. Across over 100 subreddits, though, there’s an option that combines the two: “caption porn.”
NSFW caption subreddits typically consist of various GIFs, short videos and images taken from porn, but with added captions to describe a specific fantasy. Often, these captions are irrelevant to whatever plot the porn originally had, if there was one at all. For example: A GIF of a couple having sex in the woods could be transformed through captions to describe an incestuous relationship in which two siblings sneak away from their family campsite, or it could pertain to a breeding kink being played out in a post-apocalyptic landscape. In any case, the captions are used to build a story around porn relevant to a variety of kinks and fetishes that otherwise might not exist, adding a sense of context and customization that traditional porn might now allow for.
As such, most caption subreddits are centered upon a particular niche. There are caption subreddits focused on both cuckolding among Asians and cuckolding among siblings, as well as several about cheating, furries, premature ejaculation, humiliation and more. While there are a handful of more “general” caption groups, like r/NSFW_Caption, the niche/kink-focused groups tend to be among the most popular. r/CuckoldCaptions currently features the highest member count at 280,000, followed by r/SissyPerfection at 225,000. Still, there are dozens more caption subreddits, some with thousands of members themselves.
While these subreddits aren’t exactly new, most have grown significantly over the last two years. r/BreedingCaptions, for example, was created in 2018 and had under 7,500 members on July 22, 2020. It now has 56,000. This growth mirrors that of NSFW subreddits writ large, however, and suggests that the medium has become more popular as a result of Reddit porn becoming more of a thing, too.
What appeals to people about these groups, of course, is that they offer the opportunity for richer fantasies and storylines to unfold. While mainstream porn sticks to fauxcest or “step” family relationships, incest caption groups can get as raunchy and genetically bonded as they please. It’s essentially fan fiction for porn, where creators aren’t restricted by any boundaries or rules except those which Reddit prohibits, such as sexual content involving minors.
Beyond just the opportunity to feed into a kink, caption porn also offers a more encompassing experience than the average porn video. It’s not just about enjoying the visual of sex, but developing a narrative on which one can better project themselves. They often provide a perspective and internal monologue of a sexual encounter that we’d otherwise just have to imagine on our own. Why resign to simply witnessing sex and speculating about the story that surrounds it? With caption porn, you can tell your own.
Magdalene Taylor
Magdalene Taylor is a staff writer at MEL. She covers internet culture, sex and the online adult industry. She lives in Brooklyn but is from God's Country, Western Massachusetts.
